Winning Photos From The International Garden Photographer of the Year 2018 Revealed.

The International Garden Photographer of the Year is a world-famous photography competition focusing on plant, flower, garden and botanical photography. The deadline to enter is October 31st of every year and the Winners are announced in February of the new year.

The competition's first exhibition took place at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in May 2008 and since then has become the premier garden and

plant photography event.

The really cool thing about this competition is that there are few guidelines to enter. It doesn't matter where you live, where the photo was taken or when it was taken. If you have some amazing garden/flower/botanical or similar images you took on a trip to an arboretum years ago, you can enter them in this contest. It doesn't even matter if you're an amateur or a professional, anyone can enter.

There are eleven main categories and it only costs £12 or (current $16.80 equivalent) bucks to submit up to four images or £25 (current $35 equivalent) which is very affordable for photo contest, especially if you only want to submit a few pictures.

The Categories are:

Black and White

Abstract Views

Beautiful Gardens

Outdoor Living

Greening the City

Breathing Spaces

The Beauty of Plants

Wildflower Landscapes

The Bountiful Earth

Trees, Woods & Forests

Wildlife in the Garden

On top of those, there is also the big prize: the Overall Winner. This year the Overall Winner was Brazilian Marcio Cabral with 'Cerrado Sunrise'.

('Cerrado Sunrise' by Marcio Cabral)

The Judges had this to say about Marcio:

"Marcio has captured a spectacular vision of plant life in the cerrado, displaying the beautiful flowers of Paepalanthus chiquitensis, stretching out on countless filaments towards the first light of the rising sun. It is artistically and technically brilliant, deploying superb use and understanding of equipment, post-capture processes, colour and exposure. It has the ability to make us feel novelty and wonder, as if experiencing plant life on this planet for the very first time.

As ecosystems such as the Brazilian cerrado are under threat, this image urges us all to document, understand and protect our vulnerable landscapes, with even greater passion."

Just so you don't think Marcio is a one-hit wonder, either, here are a few others he submitted.

(Sucupira by Marcio Cabral)

(Cerrado Sunset by Marcio Cabral)

So, yeah... he's got some skill. Here are some other amazing images from the many talented people who won this year.

(Early Dinner by Henrik Spranz)

(Lilypads by Cathryn Baldock)

(A Carpet of Colour by Mark Bauer)

(photo by Van Horssen)

(Photo by William Dore)

Check out The International Garden Photographer of The Yearwebsite to see not only all the winners but the runner-ups as well.